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Charles Schwab Corp. reported on Thursday third-quarter net earnings that rose to $376 million, or 28 cents a share, from $321 million, or 24 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as a $14 million tax benefit, adjusted earnings per share would be 27 cents, matching the FactSet consensus. Revenue rose 3% to $1.6 billion, in line with the FactSet consensus. Total client assets increased 1% to $2.42 trillion, while market valuations on client portfolios were reduced by $117.5 billion over the last 12 months. Retail brokerage accounts increased 12% to 6.8 million. “Our diversified revenue sources continued to support solid financial performance during the third quarter, even in the face of deteriorating equity market valuations,” said Chief Financial Officer Joe Martinetto. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has tumbled 17% over the past three months while the S&P 500 has slipped 5.4%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

The dollar traded higher against its main rivals Thursday after official data showed that the number of people applying for jobless benefits last week fell to the lowest level since 1973. The euro fell to $1.1394 after the data from $1.1444 shortly beforehand. The pound fell to $1.5435 from $1.5474. The dollar rose to 118.62 yen from 118.20 yen. The jobless claims data were released alongside the Empire State gauge of manufacturing activity and a measure of consumer prices for the month of September.

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From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The number of people who applied for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by 7,000 to 255,000 in the week ended Oct. 10, matching the lowest level since 1973. Economists polled by the MarketWatch had expected claims to total 270,000. The average of new claims over the past month, meanwhile, declined by 2,250 to seasonally adjusted 265,000, the Labor Department said. That’s also the smallest amount since 1973. The monthly average smooths out sharp fluctuations in the more volatile weekly report and is seen as a more accurate predictor of labor-market trends. Some 2.16 million people collected weekly unemployment checks in the seven days ended Oct. 3. These so-called continuing claims were down 50,000 from the prior week.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Facebook Inc. rose 1% in premarket trade Thursday, following an upgrade to buy from hold at Argus Research. Argus analyst Joseph Bonner set a $115 price target on the stock, which implies a 22% increase from Wednesday’s closing price. He pointed to the company’s successful transition to mobile, the potential for increased advertising share and the upcoming launch of its Oculus virtual reality headset for the upgrade. Separately, Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser reiterated a buy rating and $127 target on Facebook, calling the company a “power-house of growth and operating efficiency.” Shares of Facebook were on track to open around $94.96 on Thursday. They have risen nearly 5% over the last three months, outperforming the 5% decline for the S&P 500.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

Philip Morris International Inc.’s stock climbed 2% in light premarket trade Thursday, after the cigarette and tobacco company reported better-than-expected third-quarter profit and sales. Earnings for the quarter ended Sept. 30 fell to $1.94 billion, or $1.25 a share, from $2.16 billion, or $1.38 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $1.24, above the FactSet consensus of $1.12. Revenue declined 12% to $6.93 billion, but beat the FactSet consensus of $6.78 billion, as better-than-expected sales from Latin America, Canada and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa regions offset misses from the European Union and Asia. Cigarette shipment volume slipped 1.5% to 218.9 billion units. The company expects full-year 2015 adjusted EPS to rise 11% to 12% from last year. The stock has gained 3.7% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has lost 3.1%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

Managed health care company UnitedHealth Group Inc. on Thursday reported third-quarter earnings of $1.597 billion, or $1.65 a share, compared with $1.602 billion, or $1.63 a share, in the same quarter a year ago. The number of shares outstanding decreased in the period, helping to boost the company’s per-share performance. Revenue jumped 27% to $41.5 billion from $32.8 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected earnings of $1.64 a share on revenue of $40.4 billion. “Our 2015 results are reflecting balanced growth across a diversity of businesses and product categories. We believe this growth will continue,” said chief executive Stephen Hemsley in the earnings release.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of U.K. banks held to higher ground Thursday after the Bank of England said so-called “ringfenced” banks will need to hold extra capital to cover systemic risk in their operations. The announcement comes under guidelines for how the banks should operate under new laws that separate retail from investment-banking activities. Stock in Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC gained 1.2%, Barclays PLC [s:barc] was higher by 0.6%, and Lloyds Banking Group PLC [uk:lloy] picked up 0.5%. HSBC Holdings PLC moved up 0.2%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

By Brian Bandell

It may not sound like it when listening to the presidential candidates speak, but the foreclosure crisis is steadily fading both in South Florida and nationally.

RealtyTrac found that foreclosure filings declined 15.8 percent in the tri-county area in the third quarter, compared to the same period a year ago. There were 15,182 foreclosure filings here, including new lawsuits, judgments and repossessions. Most of the action was on the repossession side as banks seized 6,919 homes, so these cases… …read more

From:: biz journal foreclosures

The European Central Bank will “clearly miss” its inflation target of close to 2%, Ewald Nowotny, a member of the governing council at the central bank, said Thursday in a speech given in Warsaw. The dramatic fall in oil prices is the main force behind low consumer-price inflation in the eurozone, but central banks cannot influence this, he said. Stronger economic growth is needed, and the ECB must take new steps to tackle this, said Nowotny, who is also governor of Austria’s central bank. “ECB is using the monetary policy instruments available — but it is quite obvious that in the current macroeconomic situation additional sets of instruments are necessary,” he said, according to a statement published on the Oesterreichische Nationalbank website. The euro euro fell 0.3% to $1.1444 after Nowotny’s remarks.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

Items salvaged from old mills and barns become the floors, ceiling, and shelves in this couple’s rustic kitchen …read more

From:: DIY this old house